Motonari's Malady
by Imperator Justinian
Summary: Motonari has fallen ill with a strange sickness that ravages his memory, so his son seeks whatever help he can find. But what can the Hero of Ransei and a Jesuit Missionary do to assist Motonari if he can't even remember their names?


Hello there. Now for those of you who have read the previous Conquest stories I've written, along with the promise to revive them, you can consider this the beginning of that. While the main Conquest story I wrote, based on the all too often used plot of the first story, is still in the works and won't be out until I finish The Tournament of Heroes, I will probably be writing a conquest one-shot here or there until I finish. So you can consider this the first of those. As for the story itself, I find it to be quite tragic and sad, but it's a thought that I couldn't push out of my head (or perhaps one of my fears manifested). Either way; And now for something completely different;

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, Koei or anything associated with it.

* * *

The main hall of Aurora Castle, now the capital of Ransei, was packed to the brim with Diplomats, Envoys, Petitioners, Courtiers and the like. Tadashi, no longer the teenager he was when he united the region, was now situated on the Chrysanthemum Throne, with a crowd of people in front of him, all of whom were trying to voice their requests. The noise and attention were rather overbearing, and the thought to simply have the guards usher them all out so he could have a few moments of peace crossed his mind more than once.

But that would require yelling over the crowd and _that_ would end up being a _Faux Pas_ with massive diplomatic repercussions. He was, after all, the Sovereign of Ransei, and he doubted it would look good for his country if its Emperor had a meltdown in front of all these people. Perhaps he should have just let Nobunaga unite Ransei so he would have to deal with this and not him. So he just sighed, and decided to not even bother trying to understand what anyone was saying, let alone even try to listen to the collage of voices.

But that too changed when a man had pushed his way through the crowd to get to the front and address Tadashi. Before Tadashi could even register the man's face, he broke out into a panicked frenzy of jumbled words, silencing many of the people around him out of pure shock. Tadashi failed to catch the first portion, but could clearly hear the rest, even if it failed to make much sense.

"-at first it was just forgetting keys and his lectures or what day it was, but now it's getting worse and-" Tadashi then raised his hand and cut the man off. Taking a better look at his face, he finally realized that the man was Takakage Kobayakawa; Motonari's adopted son. He then realized that, in addition to Takakage, he had inadvertently silenced the whole room as all the excessive chattering had ceased. Knowing he now had a good excuse to get them out of the room, in addition to wanting to know what the man was rambling about, he turned to the crowd still gathered.

"I'm sorry, but something urgent has come up. I will hear what you have to say tomorrow." everyone in the room knew that the unsaid part of that sentence was 'Leave' so the crowd slowly filed out. While many grumbled over having their plans delayed, none dared to voice their complaints.

"All right, now, what's wrong?"

"It's father! He-" Tadashi's eyes widened in concern. Motonari Mori, the elderly Warlord of Greenleaf, as well as a retired historian, was one of Tadashi's most trusted subjects and a good friend. During the war, Motonari was one of Tadashi's "Three Arrows", a term the former professor had coined himself, his top strategists along with Hanbei and Kanbei. Had it not been for their brilliance, he was not sure he would be sitting upon his throne. So any news concerning the man Tadashi was keen to hear, though he dreaded what Takakage would tell him.

"Is Motonari all right? Is he hurt?"

"No! Father is losing his memory!" Tadashi exhaled the breath that he had held in; at least the man was physically safe. Besides, it was no secret Motonari's memory was not stellar, an irony considering his occupation, so perhaps this was just an exaggeration.

"Are you sure it's not ju-" Takakage, in his panic, did not even let the young man finish his sentence.

"No! It's getting worse! He's starting to forget the names of foods and colors, what year it is, and where his room is. He even had to ask me my name because he couldn't remember it!" Tadashi was now concerned; Motonari loved his son dearly, so if he couldn't even remember his name then something was wrong. Tadashi stood up from his throne and descended the stairs that led up to it, becoming level with Takakage.

"Let's hurry, if he's as bad as you say then I want to get there as soon as possible." the two then walked towards the door separating the hall from the foyer. Stopping for a moment, Tadashi turned to a nearby guard.

"Find Luis Frois, he'll be able to help." the guard simply nodded in response, and as Tadashi and Takakage left through the crowded foyer, the guard went in the opposite direction, deeper into the bastion.

* * *

The ride to Greenleaf was short and uneventful, and now Tadashi and Takakage were at the hedge styled walls of the castle. Takakage took a key out of his back coat pocket, and inserted it into the golden keyhole. After twisting it, and hearing an audible clicking sound as a result, he then grabbed the gilded door handle and opened the large, oak doors. The Emperor took no time to wait for Takakage to get out from behind the door, and instead quickly strode into the foyer, only to find the elderly professor there.

The man had visibly aged a great amount over the years; his once light green hair had grayed at a rapid pace, creating a color where the green could barely be seen anymore. Bags had formed under his eyes, most likely from a lack of sleep or pushing himself to hard, and wrinkles had developed on his forehead and at the corners of his mouth. He still wore his signature smile, a warm, toothless, grin that betrayed a slight cunning, but now it appeared to have lost its luster, dull even. Motonari, who was pacing back and forth as quickly as he could in his advanced age, heard Tadashi walked in and turned to greet him.

He was shocked to see the young man in his castle, no doubt expecting his son, but remained composed none the less. "Ah, your majesty, who do I owe the pleasure of your visit to today?" then Takakage finally came into the foyer, Motonari's question being answered.

"Son! You've returned!" Motonari then hobbled over and gave Takakage a hug, which the man returned. "I was only going over to Aurora, Father. I did say that it would only take an hour or so."

"Oh yes... Yes, you did say you were heading over to the adjacent kingdom didn't you?" Takakage then broke the embrace and silently looked at Tadashi, as if giving him both an answer and a request. Tadashi then walked over to the older man and placed his hand on his shoulder, causing Motonari to turn to face the young man.

"Motonari, I need you to do something for me."

"Of course, your Majesty." Tadashi then smiled, hoping that what he was going to ask would alleviate any fears he had.

"I need you to tell me what my name is." Motonari seemed to be taken slightly aback, but all he would let on from it was a simple blink. His brow then furrowed and he seemed to think hard about it.

"Tada-Tada-" Tadashi started to grow hopeful that he would manage to complete the word, and prove that it was nothing more than old age.

"Ta-Tada-Tadamoto!" and with that one word Tadashi's hopes were sunk. Tadashi sighed and lowered his head.

"Thank You Motonari." Motonari could hear the sadness behind his voice, and saw the defeated look on his face.

"I'm sorry, was that wrong?" Before Tadashi could reply another set of footsteps rang out through the foyer. "Lord Tadashi?" The three heads turned to see Luis Frois, the Jesuit Missionary that had aided Tadashi's army on more than one occasion, standing at the doorway. "You men requested I come here, is everything all right?" Motonari was the first to respond though.

"Ah, Father- Father..." Motonari's face scrunched up in fought again. He knew he was friends with the foreign missionary and historian standing at the doorway, but he just could not remember his name. Then again, he could not remember why Emperor Tadamoto was here either.

"Frois. You do not remember me, Lord Motonari?" Motonari was then shaken out of his stupor by the Jesuit's words. He looked up only to see Tadashi whispering something to the Missionary.

"Did he suffer any blows to the head?" the man asked in response to the whispering. Tadashi turned to Takakage, who shook his head, giving a silent negative. Frois seemed to consider his options, occasionally glancing at the increasingly confused elder, and then seemingly came to a conclusion.

Turning to Takakage, he started to explain. "I'll need somewhere private to go with him, somewhere where he'll be familiar in."

"There's his study, it's the third door on the right." Frois nodded and headed off, presuming Motonari to be in tow. When he turned around, he saw that Motonari was still confused and had failed to pick up on the conversation.

"Motonari, could you please follow me?" Motonari nodded and started walking off with Frois, only for both to disappear in a nearby doorway, followed by the sound of the door being closed.

* * *

Seconds turned to Minutes, Minutes turned to Hours. Or at least that's how it felt to the two men who were uneasily wondering around the lobby. With no clocks, and a lack of visible movement from the sun, it was almost impossible to tell how long it had been since Motonari and Luis went off, but it felt like ages.

Both Takakage and Tadashi were hungry, and somewhat tired, but neither dared to leave the foyer out of fear of Frois or Motonari coming out and not being there. Finally, they heard the sound of clicking, and both looked up. To their surprise, and mild disappointment, a servant girl had come out of a door from the left hallway, and approached the two with a tray of sandwiches.

"I-I'm sorry to disappoint sirs- Its- It's just that I keep seeing you out here and- and I thought you might be hungry." clearly the girl was shy, though Tadashi doubted having the head of state in her presence helped with her fears one bit. Though, moved by the fact she had taken the initiative to make these by herself, he and Takakage each took a sandwich from the tray. Tadashi bite into the food, and immediately his countenance brightened.

"This is very good, thank you." the girl nodded and quickly left, going back into the room where she had come from, no doubt the castle's kitchen.

"Don't take it personally, she's like that around everyone." after hearing the door close again Tadashi and Takakage went back to their nervous pacing, albeit a bit slower so that they would not choke on their food. Seconds after they heard the door to the kitchen close, they heard a door open again. This time they turned to the right to see Frois emerging from the study. Takakage quickly swallowed the last of his sandwich, while Tadashi simply lowered his half eaten piece. Frois approached them somberly, with his head lowered at a slight angle, which only caused his black hat's rather large brim to cast a shadow over his brown prayer shawl in addition to his face.

"I've read about a few cases like this, though I'd never thought I would see one." he started, confusing the two others.

"What's wrong with Father? Is he going to die from this?" Takakage anxiously asked.

"No, he won't die from this, although I doubt it will help his health. We do not have a name for it in the west yet, but I suppose I shall call it Motonari's Malady. Essentially from what I have gathered, his memory is deteriorating at a disturbing rate, and I fear it may also affect how he acts physically."

"Is there _anything_ we can do?" Takakage asked, his concern increasing by the second.

"Unfortunately, I fear I have done all I can. Being in his study seems to help him remember, though. Oh, and Lord Tadashi, he has requested your presence." Tadashi nodded, promptly threw his food into a nearby trash can, and headed off to Motonari's study. He had only been in it once before, but it still amazed him. The man's study was more of a library, with a semi-circle of chairs situated in front of a fireplace in the back of the room. Walking up to them, he sat in the one opposite from where the professor was, who was busy gazing at the roaring fire.

"Emperor Tadamoto." Tadashi sighed, but he was not going to say anything. He did not know if Luis had told Motonari what he had told them, but the man did not need any more reminders of his memory failures.

"What can I do for you old friend?" Motonari slumped back into his posh chair and seemed to ponder that question for a few minutes, trying desperately to remember what he was going to ask.

"Could you please get some writing u-u-uten-"

"Utensils?" Tadashi interjected, to which Motonari nodded.

"Yes. They're on the desk behind you." Tadashi got up and went to the desk behind him, grabbing various pieces of blank parchment and some writing utensils, and then sat back down with them in hand.

"For perhaps forty years, I have taught many generations History, both of ours and abroad." he paused for a moment, most likely trying to retain what he was going to say next. "But now my own is slipping, and I fear that there is knowledge that I retain, that I have not written down or lectured about, that remains untold."

"So you would like me to chronicle your history?" Tadashi asked rhetorically.

"Yes. I hope that I can continue to provide future generations with knowledge and lessons from my own experiences, even when I am no longer physically able to." Tadashi nodded solemnly, even when thinking of his death the man was still thinking of ways to pass on his knowledge. A great and tragic irony considering what is happening to him.

"Motonari, you are truly the wisest man in Ransei, and though you may forget it, I will ensure that no one else does."

"Thank You my lord, but I fear you flatter me." Tadashi shook his head.

"No, you truly deserve that title." for a moment Tadashi thought he saw tears starting to form in Motonari's eyes. But he simply nodded and started to talk. And for what felt like days, Motonari regaled him of his life, his experiences, and his knowledge, and in turn Tadashi scribbled furiously.

Eventually Motonari would start to go off topic, or ramble, or Tadashi would run out of ink or paper, but they would simply stop for a moment, gather their bearings, and then continue. Sometime along the way the shy servant from earlier brought them some more sandwiches and tea. Both took a few minutes to enjoy their food before continuing, and by the time they had finished the afternoon sun had already set, leaving behind the stars in its wake.

"Thank you my lord, for doing this for me." Motonari said upon finishing his last sentence, this time the tears clearly rolling down his cheeks.

"After all you have done for me; this is the least I could do for you. If you need anything else, please ask, but I must be going." Motonari simply nodded and Tadashi gathered the scattered pieces of parchment around his chair. Finally forming them into a neat stack, he exited the study only to find Takakage still in the foyer, nervously going back and forth.

"I think he'll want to see you." that was all Takakage needed to hear, and he ran off in the direction of his father's study. Tadashi then left the castle and got on his Rapidash, doing whatever he could to keep the papers from scattering in the wind during his ride back home. After finally getting back onto the castle grounds, he handed the reins of his mount to a nearby servant and quickly ran into the palace. Quickly heading up to his room on the third floor, he opened the door, only to find his wife inside. Oichi then got up of their bed and ran up to him and hugged him.

"You were gone for ten hours! You had me so worried!" Tadashi returned the hug to his distraught wife, holding her tight to try to ease her concern.

"I'm sorry, something with Motonari came up." Oichi then backed away and got a better look at him, and the papers he was holding.

"What's wrong with Motonari?"

"We don't know for sure, but it's not good." Another look of concern crossed her face, she knew how Tadashi saw the man as a father figure, and frankly so did she.

"Should we send him something?" Tadashi shook his head.

"No. The only thing Motonari would want are books, and that would add insult to injury." Oichi was now perplexed, but did not ask too much, she could ask her husband more tomorrow. Rather she simply crawled into their bed while Tadashi changed into his sleepwear, after setting the stack of papers on his nightstand.

After changing, he crawled into bed as well, and before falling to sleep, stole one last glance at the stack of papers on his nightstand.

"_Tomorrow, I'll reorganize them and have it mass-produced. I'll see to it personally._" he thought before closing his eyes and falling asleep, the exhaustion and strain from the day finally taking its toll on him.

* * *

A few months had passed since Tadashi had recorded Motonari's life for him, and now here he was at the man's funeral. The Lord had been merciful to him, and taken him away before the malady could continue to fester and endlessly ravage the man's mind. It was just seven people, not an elaborate ceremony with crowds of mourners. But that is how Motonari would have preferred his funeral to be. He would not have wanted to be remembered by his death, but rather what he did in life. Out of the seven of them Takakage was crying the most, sobbing uncontrollably. Oichi clung close to him, and even he was struggling to hold back tears.

Hanbei, Kanbei and Kiyoko were there as well, standing to the side. Hanbei had failed to hold back his tears, but who would blame him? Ransei had lost one of its greatest men today. Even Kanbei let a few tears roll down his pale cheeks; something he claimed would never do again. Even nature itself appeared to be upset over the loss of Motonari; as it was raining in such a furious manner that all of their clothes were completely drenched, and a good portion of the ground was saturated. Frois then walked up to his friend's gravestone and opened the Bible he was carrying, the brim of his hat protecting it from any water. Clearing his throat, he started to read.

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." when Frois finished reading the twenty-third Psalm, Tadashi too started to cry. And, save the noise of the rain, they all stood in silence, mourning the loss of the wisest man Ransei had seen.

Motonari Mori may be dead, but his legacy will live on. And Tadashi would make sure of it.

* * *

Well that was probably the saddest and most depressing thing I've written, filled with Irony and Tragedy.

For those of you who are wondering, Tadashi is the Hero in the game with Kiyoko being the Heroine. Also, Takakage is a generic Warrior who serves Motonari in game and was historically his son.

Luis Frois on the other hand, is less of an OC and more of a historical inclusion, being as he was a prominent Jesuit Missionary to Japan and wrote the main historical source we have on the (Late Sengoku) time period while living in Gifu Castle with Nobunaga. Since he made such an important Historical Record and being as how Motonari is presented in both Samurai Warriors and Pokémon Conquest, I could easily see them becoming friends over history.

Also, and this is just one last note, part of my inspiration from this came from PitFTW's Pokémon Conquest: The Aftermath, particularly his section about Greenleaf. Well, I can guarantee you that the next Conquest Story I write will be, by far, more upbeat.


End file.
